Ice Prince

Chapter 7

With his head wrapped in a fluffy towel in addition to his hood so that the cold air didn't get to his damp hair, Hongjoong padded along next to Seonghwa, his arms wrapped around the older man's arm and his eyes closed. Seonghwa walked slowly for Hongjoong so that he could rest a little while he walked. They had been in the cave together for almost two hours. At first they had just relaxed, but then they had swam back and forth a bit until the skin on their fingers slowly swelled up. Just when things were at their best, the younger man suddenly got tired, which is why they hadn't waited until they were dry. They had quickly put their clothes back on after quickly drying their bodies with the towels from the bag that Seonghwa had received from the servant, and then Seonghwa carefully helped his husband to carefully wrap his wet black hair in a towel. Seonghwa himself didn't need to do this, but he knew that Hongjoong would have a hard time explaining himself otherwise.  They hurried as it started to snow again on the way back. When they arrived at the castle, Yeosang was already waiting. He took the bag from Seonghwa and then ran ahead to prepare the fire in the fireplace in the two princes' bedroom. When Yeosang was out of sight, Seonghwa turned to the younger prince, who was standing in front of the entrance door wrapped up in his coat and still looked as if he was about to fall asleep at any second. His eyes were closed and his lips pursed into a cute pout. Grinning, Seonghwa stepped closer to Hongjoong and gently ran his hand through his black hair, which had almost completely dried on the way to the castle. Humming quietly to himself, the tired prince opened his eyes and saw a gentle smile on Seonghwa's lips as he stroked his hair.

"Let's go to bed." The older prince said, which Hongjoong didn't need to be told twice.  He followed Seonghwa through the dark corridors of the castle, which were only lit by the light of the moon shining in through the windows from outside. He held Seonghwa's hand and followed him with quick steps until Seonghwa suddenly stopped. Confused, Hongjoong also stopped and looked at the older man.

"What's going on?" He asked, his eyes slightly narrowed when he suddenly noticed a light that illuminated the corridor and was coming closer to the two of them. Blinded, he held up his arm and covered his eyes with his hand. Seonghwa also narrowed his eyes slightly, but quickly recognized who was coming towards them from the sound of the shoes clattering over the stony floor.

"Mother?" He asked, somewhat puzzled by the fact that his mother was still awake, when the black-haired woman stopped in front of them and looked at the two with relief.

"There you are." She said.  She held the lantern with the small flame in it a little lower so that the light didn't blind the princes too much. They looked at the queen and Seonghwa frowned.

"Didn't anyone tell you? San was supposed to tell you that we were out." Her son replied. She nodded.

"He told me. But it's so late, I was worried." Seonghwa grinned amusedly. He already knew this behavior from his mother. She had always been a woman who was quick to worry about Seonghwa, which was why it was a miracle that Seonghwa was allowed to take part in the sword fighting lessons. After all, Seonghwa was her only child. She and the king had never managed to give Seonghwa a sibling, which had not only given the prince a rather lonely childhood, but also the full attention and care of his mother.  He glanced briefly at Hongjoong, who still looked very sleepy and tired, but tried to pull himself together and remain polite in front of the queen.

"To be honest, we stayed out a little longer than planned. That's why we wanted to go straight to bed." He said and his mother looked at him curiously.

"But nothing happened to you out there, did it? I heard that some citizens aren't particularly happy about the way we've brought peace between our two kingdoms." Confused by this information, Seonghwa frowned, put an arm around Hongjoong's shoulder and pulled him a little closer to him.